why are some students getting 2 patients?

Are they maybe more willing to try to do things than others in order to learn? I would think they might get more if that were the case.

How do you mean not better? Maybe they are more organized than you, maybe they asked for extra patient's. Maybe they go over just the minimum needed to pass clinicals and the instructor is pushing them along. Then again that the class was split and one week a group gets 2 patients and next week it will be another group getting 2 patients. Your CI has only so much time and is responsible for all the patients under her students care. Unless you ask your CI the above question you will never know, all we can do is speculate.

We never were allowed to choose 2 patients. We could follow the nurse to see her other patients and do assessments but couldn't do anyhting else with them or document anything.

why are some of my classmates getting 2 patients and others are not?

Some of these girls are not better.

Why not ask your clinical instructor if you can have 2 patients? Back when we started with 2 patients we took turns w/ who got them because our CI only had so much time. After awhile we ALL had 2..then 3.

We rotated who got 2 patients. My instructor wanted a max of 12 patients under her supervisory care was one reason. The other reason was that the students with 1 pt could have time to assist others as needed if they were behind.

It depends on what your patients consist of (ie: level of acuity) and what students are capable of as to how many patients you get. You probably do not know what your classmates are capable of, as you do not work with them as closely as your CI does. Don't take this as an insult it may have nothing to do with how well you do it may have to do with how sick your patient is and how many patients your CI can handle.

Sweetooth

Is this an LPN/LVN or RN program? I have 5 patients! We have to do one detailed careplan per rotation and she will let you do 3 on that day. Every other day you take what the RN has (an on a med-surg that is 5-6). I guess there were some students who took fewer (2 or 3) and the instructor didn't care. Neither did I because I was too busy taking care of my 5 to notice!

In our clinical we are supposed to only take one patient however there have been times where some of us took 2 for various reasons.

2 of the girls in my group kept picking patients that were too easy, and did not need a lot of care, so she started making them take 2 patients so they weren't constantly walking around complaining of being bored and there being nothing for them to do. Sort of punishment.

I personally always chose patients that need the most amount of care and have a lot wrong with them so I can stay busy and learn a lot. She had me take on a 2nd patient one day only because the nursing staff was completely overwhelmed and they needed the help and she trusted me and felt I could handle taking on a 2nd high needs patient.

Other times she's had some of the girls take on a 2nd patient as a way of making up for missed clinical days and such.

So there could be a number of reasons. It often doesn't mean that they are better than anyone else.

Is that a part of your program to add additional patients as the semester goes along?

At my school, we gradually added more patients until we had 3 patients in my second semester.

In our final semester, we have to care for a whole load of patients; this depends on what hosptal you have clinicals at. In fact, one hopsital we have has ratios of 1:10 and up, but I don't know if we;d have to do that many. I assume we'll average about 5.

In any case, it is a requirement to get more and more patients as the semester and program progresses so it's not a question of who is better or not.

I am 3rd term lpn student. We dont get multiple patients till 4th.

However we are responsible for doing an head to toe assessment, then doing focused ones as we meet abnormalities, passing meds (except for IV of course) setting up solutions and drip rates, monitoring those solutions, documenting vital signs every two hours and documenting I's an O's if needed. Also bathing the patient if needed. The nurses love to have us because we do almost everything for them.

It will take some getting used to with more then one patient heh. Then again with more patients we will be required to delegate more to the CNAs which would help alot.

Maybe your teacher sees somthing in them that you don't. Maybe they are better and you just don't realize it. Sounds rude hu? But I have been on the other side too. People tell me how I am lucky that I got this or that grade and that the teacher must like me more. I EARN my grades, luck and being liked has nothing to do with it. Some one told me I was lucky to get my A- nin patho/pharm and I could have ripped their head off because I gave up my LIFE for that grade.

In my clinical if you do not get a 2nd pt it is not because you are not good, its just that they want you to practice more with one pt. but know one had a problem getting two.

I am 3rd term lpn student. We dont get multiple patients till 4th.

However we are responsible for doing an head to toe assessment, then doing focused ones as we meet abnormalities, passing meds (except for IV of course) setting up solutions and drip rates, monitoring those solutions, documenting vital signs every two hours and documenting I's an O's if needed. Also bathing the patient if needed. The nurses love to have us because we do almost everything for them.

It will take some getting used to with more then one patient heh. Then again with more patients we will be required to delegate more to the CNAs which would help alot.

In my second semester, by the middle of the semester, all five people in my clinical group had two patients with total care, all meds (BSN), all assessments, any procedures we could do - basically everything. Oh, and we could delegate nothing to the CNAs.

We survived, but there were days we doubted it...